Institute for Advanced Study at Central European University
Hungary
IAS CEU offers annually one Writer in Residence fellowship and one Visual/New Media Artist in Residence fellowship to provide selected artists with opportunities to conceptualize and create new works while providing the fellow community with opportunities for meaningful interaction with artists working in various fields. These two residential fellowships (up to 5 months each with a minimum stay of 3 months) are offered on a competitive basis to internationally established as well as emerging artists, in creative writing (from poetry and prose to drama, screen and playwriting) and in the visual arts, including new media art (from painting to filming and from digital art to computer graphics to interactive art).
We seek artists who will be able to work independently, have a solid plan of work for their fellowship period and are ready to engage with the intellectual life at the Institute and the university. Artists in residence are expected to participate in the academic life of the community of IAS Fellows, which includes participation in the weekly Fellows’ seminar and a presentation of their own artistic or literary work.
To be in residence at IAS CEU means to work and participate in an academic community, to receive technical and artistic assistance and to be immersed in a vibrant city's cultural life. While in residence, artists benefit from an intense production time enhanced by the exchange of ideas and experiences with fellows of the Institute. The Institute views art and scholarship as complementary rather than separate activities, which interact dynamically and encourage mutual productivity.
IAS CEU is an independent Institute for Advanced Study based at the Budapest site of Central European University. CEU operates at two locations, with the main campus in Vienna and several research institutes and centers in Budapest. Located in the heart of one of Central Europe's most attractive cities, IAS CEU seeks to benefit from this arrangement and to be part of the rich academic life and research generated in both places. The Budapest site hosts, besides the IAS, a part of the CEU Library, the Blinken OSA Archivum, the Democracy Institute (DI), the Center for Ethics and Law in Biomedicine, and the Summer University (SUN), as well as various research units and non-degree education programs. For further information, please refer to the Institute's website at https://ias.ceu.edu.
As CEU is in the process of transformation, our fellowship programs are meant to contribute to the formation of a Global Invisible University framework as an innovative new format coordinated by CEU’s Budapest site. This framework builds on the Global Forum organized by the Democracy Institute, as well as CEU’s engagement with different groups of scholars and students at risk (including the Invisible University for Ukraine and various Southeast European and Southeast Asian academic networks among others). It seeks to rethink the relationship of research, education, and civic engagement in a transnational manner and reinforce CEU’s links to individuals and institutions defending academic freedom and seeking to develop innovative strategies in autocratic contexts. For the Artist in Residence Fellowship, we are particularly interested in applications that bring together the question of the freedom of artistic expression and its political, aesthetic, and material implications with the broader theme described above.
Fellowships include:
A net allowance of EUR 2,000 per month + accommodation at the Raoul Wallenberg Guesthouse and/or office space at IAS CEU premises as available, either of which may serve as a studio, limited equipment and technical support from the CEU Media Hub (located in Vienna). We encourage all applicants for the visual artist fellowship to inquire about existing facilities and technology available. Awarded fellows are responsible for their own travel arrangements and health insurance. Fellowships may start in October 2026. Fellows are required to be in continuous residence for the duration of the fellowship.
Application criteria:
Applications are expected from writers and artists who
- hold a relevant university degree • preferably are actively involved in related artistic and academic fields
- have a solid portfolio of artistic projects or writings
- show potential to deepen and grow their creative practice
- demonstrate ability to engage with the IAS community • are fluent in English.
- Former fellows of IAS CEU are not eligible to apply again for a period of 7 years. Applications at an earlier stage may be considered only in exceptional cases.
- Reapplication is possible only 3 times within a period of 5 years.
- All nationalities are encouraged to apply. However, please be informed that the eligibility of applicants who require a visa for their stay in Hungary may need to be assessed on an individual basis.
How to apply?
All applications must be submitted through our online application system: Prepare your application package: create one pdf file no larger than 12 MBs containing all your application documents. The name of the pdf file should contain your last name, first name and the type of fellowship you are applying for in the following format: Doe, Jane_ AIR_Writer.pdf OR Doe, John_ AIR_Visual-Media_Artist.pdf
Your application package should contain the following documents:
- Cover letter indicating how the fellowship is beneficial for the artistic project with a paragraph engaging with the questions of the entanglement of artistic and academic freedom and its implications in education and the civil sphere (max. 1,000 words)
- Abstract of the project (max. 200 words)
- For visual/media/new media artists: Project plan which describes a concrete project that can be developed while in residence, identifying any technical support needed (max. 1,500 words, not counting references; possible additional video material)
- For writers: Work plan while in residence (max. 1,500 words, not counting references)
CV (max. 5 pages), including a list of published works and/or portfolio (the selection committee might request samples at a later stage)
Successful candidates will be informed in mid-March 2026.
Enquiries should be sent to IAS_art_applications
ceu [dot] edu (IAS_art_applications[at]ceu[dot]edu)